Search This Blog

Govt may triple heirs' liability for paying maintenance to seniors

Amount may be raised from Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000 a month; tribunals also proposed to get more teeth

The Union government is planning to hike the maintenance amount payable to parents and senior citizens under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act. The amount could triple to Rs 30,000 a month from the existing Rs 10,000. The Act provides for financial support to seniors by their children or relatives who are neglecting them or have abandoned them.

While increasing the amount was due as the decade-old regulations have not kept pace with inflation, experts say that the government should also increase the powers of tribunals and focus on implementation to provide the required financial support to seniors in their golden years. “To be fair to seniors and their relatives, the government should keep the maintenance amount as a percentage of the income of the children or relative, rather than a fixed sum.

Medical treatment, for example, can sometimes burn a hole in the pockets of a senior,” says Pallavi Sharma, partner, VoxLaw. Seniors can claim money for food, clothing, residence and medical attendance and treatment.

A few states have not yet notified the law, and senior citizens in those states cannot take resort to it. “When the Centre enacted the law, there was supposed to be one tribunal in each district. But this has not happened either,” says Sheilu Sreenivasan, founder, Dignity Foundation. Sreenivasan says that the government should also enhance the powers of the tribunals for dealing with elderly abuse and neglect.

In recent times, high courts have directed tribunals to evict children from parents’ property if needed. But as tribunals lack enough power, most cases have to go to high courts.

Experts say that while the regulation has been around for over a decade now, not many are aware of its existence and how to claim the maintenance amount. The regulations primarily help seniors who cannot afford the basic necessities in old age. Seniors include parents and grandparents. They can claim maintenance from their children, grandchildren or “specified relatives”, who are essentially individuals who are legal owners of the assets of a senior.

“While children are mandated to support, relatives can only be asked to provide financial assistance if they will inherit the property and assets of a senior or are already in possession of them. This provision creates a lot of issues for seniors trying to claim maintenance,” says Sharma of VoxLaw. Say, parents, lose their son. The daughter-in-law could be the only person available to provide financial assistance. But, if the seniors don’t have any assets, she cannot be held liable to provide support.

To seek maintenance under the Act, a senior needs to apply to a tribunal, which looks at whether the application is genuine and then awards an amount up to Rs 10,000 at present. “Once the order is passed, the children or relatives are bound by it. If they don’t pay, they can be jailed for a month,” says Ansh Bhargava, a lawyer.

To make the process simple and hassle-free, seniors don’t need to appoint a lawyer. They can either undertake the procedure themselves or approach a tribunal through a non-government organisation.

Business Standard New Delhi, 06th July 2017

Get link

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Google+

Email

Other Apps

Get link

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Google+

Email

Other Apps

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A number of goods such as cosmetics, shaving creams, shampoo, toothpaste, soap, plastics, paints and some consumer durables could become cheaper under the proposed goods and services tax (GST) regime as most items are likely to be subject to the rate of 18% rather than the higher one of 28%.

India is likely to rely on the effective tax rate currently applicable on a commodity to get a fix on the GST slab, said a government official, allowing most goods to make it to the lower bracket.

For instance, if an item comes within the 12% excise slab but the effective tax is 8% due to abatement, then the latter will be considered for GST fitment.

Going by this formulation, about 70% of all goods could fall in the 18% bracket.

The GST Council has finalised a four-tier tax structure of 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% but has left room for the highest slab to be pegged at 40%. A committee of officials will work out the fitment and the council…

Hundreds of crores of rupees in the form of taxes ride on the exact categorisation of products Is Parachute hair oil or edible oil? Is KitKat a chocolate or a biscuit? Is a Vicks tablet medicament or confectionery? For the taxpayer and the tax collector, this is much more than an exercise in semantics -hundreds of crores of rupees ride on the exact categorisation.As the government moves closer to rolling out the goods and services tax (GST) on July 1, many such distinctions are being debated so that no ambiguity remains. Not just that, the government is revisiting old tax cases that were lost over product categorisation, according to people with knowledge of the matter, presumably with a view to making sure that revenue collections can be maximised. “In the past, several tax officers had challenged some of the product categorisations, including those in the retail segment, but lost out in court or at appellate level,“ said one of the persons. “Now we have a chance to go ahead with speci…